ROCKINGHAM — A man originally thought to have overdosed and had outstanding warrants was allegedly caught with meth over the weekend.
According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a call of a suspected overdose victim in a vehicle Sunday, March 13 at a convenience store on Airport Road.
When the deputies arrived, they saw the vehicle, but it was empty, according to a press release.
While interviewing a witness inside the store, the witness reportedly pointed to a man walking across the street as the same who had appeared to be passed out in the vehicle.
Deputies approached the man, whom they identified as 35-year-old Donald Eugene Lampley, of Rockingham, according to the release.
Lampley reportedly had outstanding warrants for failing to appear in court on breaking and entering charges.
While deputies were patting down Lampley, they allegedly felt a needle in his pocket. They reportedly asked Lampley to pull it out, “for safety purposes,” and when he did, a small bag of methamphetamine allegedly fell out.
Lampley was arrested on the outstanding warrants — Richmond County Jail records show three counts of failure to appear — and also charged with possession of methamphetamine.
He is being held on a combined $30,000 secured bond and was scheduled to appear in Richmond County Superior Court on Monday.
Online records show Lampley has no other pending charges.
Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction show Lampley has a criminal history dating back 18 years.
Lampley was first convicted of possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance in 2004, followed by convictions of breaking and entering in 2005; three counts of breaking and entering a paper currency machine and one count of unauthorized use of motor conveyance (Montgomery County)in 2007; possessing stolen goods in 2009; and two counts of misdemeanor larceny in 2013.
In 2015, Lampley was convicted on two counts of possession or distribution of a meth precursor in Richmond County and possession of a stolen vehicle in Montgomery County. The following year he was convicted of possession with intent to sell a Schedule IV controlled substance, selling a Schedule IV controlled substance and delivering or selling a Schedule IV controlled substance.
He was initially given probation on those convictions, which was revoked, and he was incarcerated from October 2016 to December 2018. But before Lampley’s parole expired, he was back in prison and later convicted of possession of a Schedule II controlled substance.
Lampley was released in October of 2019 but received another post-release revocation in 2020. He has been out of prison since Nov. 18, 2020, records show.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
